PM Imran reviews performance of 10 ministries
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday chaired a special meeting of the federal cabinet to review the 100 days’ performance of 10 ministries and departments. The cabinet meeting also examined the future plans of the ministries on agenda, a PM Office statement said. The ministries put forward their future plans as well as the implementation strategy. The cabinet decided to hold similar meetings quarterly to review the performance of the ministries. The premier had also decided to hold quarterly performance review meetings to monitor the working of the ministries and divisions.
Source:Pakistan Today
December 15, 2018 17:14 UTC
Pakistan bans screening of Manto
Indian actor and film-maker Nandita Das on Saturday announced that the Pakistani government has banned her film Manto from releasing in the country. The film ban is being hugely protested as it’s considered a threatening attack on creative and artistic freedom of expression. Nighat Manto, Manto’s daughter7. Nusrat Manto, Manto’s daughter8. Nuzhat Manto, Manto’s daughter9.
Source:Pakistan Today
December 15, 2018 16:18 UTC
Social media companies cooperated with Pakistan: Fawad
The federal government wants to prevent “hate speech and not to curb free speech”, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said Friday night, adding that “social media companies have cooperated with us”. Speaking to a private news channel, Fawad said the Pakistan Electronic Crime Act and the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) cyber wing are inactive. He, however, said that “social media companies have cooperated with us, especially with regard to some recent developments.”“It was [the Pakistani government’s] request that led Facebook to block most of the accounts,” the minister said. According to the social media platform’s report for the January-June 2018 period, Islamabad forwarded requests to block 243 accounts. In the preceding period (July-December 2017), 674 accounts were reported to Twitter and requests to block 75 accounts were forwarded.
Source:Pakistan Today
December 15, 2018 16:18 UTC
Spain’s prosecutor accuses Shakira of $16.3m tax fraud
MADRID: Spanish prosecutors filed charges against Colombian singer Shakira on Friday, accusing her of failing to pay 14.5 million euros in tax ($16.3 million) in the country where her Spanish footballer partner plays. The charges were filed in the Catalonia region, where the singer is a regular presence at matches of her partner Gerard Pique’s team, Barcelona. She was accused of failing to pay tax on income earned from 2012-2014, when the prosecutors say she lived there. Representatives of Shakira said in a statement that the singer did not live in Spain until 2015, and has met all of her tax obligations to Spanish authorities. It is the latest case of a high-profile foreigner with links to top level Spanish soccer being accused of avoiding tax while living there.
Source:Pakistan Today
December 15, 2018 16:07 UTC
Doctor Siddiqui finds irony in being IT minister
Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui on Saturday expressed his displeasure over being given the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government. While addressing an event at a private university, the IT minister said, “I am a doctor by profession. The MQM-P leader said that his party has undergone a rapid improvement, rejecting the perception of crisis. “It is strange that Karachi’s poverty rate stands at 50% even after the city gives its 70% revenue to the country,” he said. On education reforms, he said there is a need for a regulatory authority for the education sector to address the shortcomings.
Source:Pakistan Today
December 15, 2018 16:07 UTC
Indian spy Sarabjit’s murderers acquitted after witnesses retract statements
–Inmates Amir Tanba and Mudasir murdered Sarabjit Singh inside Kot Lakhpat jail in 2013LAHORE: A session court in Lahore on Saturday acquitted two accused in the murder case of Indian spy Sarabjit Singh. A convicted Indian spy on death row, Singh was attacked on April 26, 2013 by two inmates Amir Tanba and Mudasir in Kot Lakhpat Jail when he came out for lunch from his special barrack. A district and sessions court in Lahore on Saturday acquitted two suspects accused of killing Indian spy Sarabjit Singh inside Kot Lakhpat jail in April 2013, DawnNewsTV reported. Additional District and Sessions Judge Moin Khokar issued directives to release Amir Tanba and Mudasir Munir from custody after all witnesses retracted their statements. Lahore police had registered a case at Kot Lakhpat police station under Section 324/34 (planned attempted murder in group) under the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of then superintendent Kot Lakhpat jail, Waqar Sumra.
Source:Pakistan Today
December 15, 2018 15:52 UTC
AJK wants to open religious sites like Kartarpur for tourism: AJK PM
MUZAFFARABAD: Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister (PM) Raja Farooq Haider Khan on Saturday said that his government was willing to open religious sites for Sikhs, Hindus and Buddhists like the Kartapur corridor and had forwarded a proposal to the federal government in this regard. “We have more than six hundred pilgrim sites of the three religions, including Sharda and Ali Baig which we are planning to renovate, recondition and open for respective followers from Indian held Kashmir (IHK),” Haider said while speaking at a reception in Mirpur. He said that tourism would get a big boost in the territory besides strengthening the confidence between the masses and governments of two countries to resolve conflicts peacefully in the region by opening these sites. “I have asked the government of Pakistan to open all the traditional routes between Azad Kashmir and IHK for religious visitors like the Kartapur corridor, recently opened in Punjab for Sikhs,” AJK premier added.
Source:Pakistan Today
December 15, 2018 15:45 UTC
Media Watch: ‘Happy to be ashamed…’
Are you ashamed, asked Sacker in the blunt Tim Sebastian-tone that the programme has had since its launched in 1997. “I am happy to be ashamed” to be standing with a trusted ally, came the reply. Why aren’t the western leaders, like Donald Trump also ashamed, he continued. Second, was the decision of the BBC to edit out the finance minister’s reference to captured Indian naval officer Kulbhushan Yadav. One suspects that it wasn’t even irresponsible populism on their part when they were in opposition, but actual, genuine ignorance.
Source:Pakistan Today
December 15, 2018 15:33 UTC
Zardari says would’ve been better if transparent polls were ‘allowed’
“It would have been better if transparent elections were allowed to be held so that political parties could have formed a government through consensus,” he stated. “What right does an individual, with just three-year tenure, has to make decisions regarding my nation?” Zardari questioned. “I get angry when someone takes away the rights of the poor … They won’t be able to do it.”He said a lot could have been done in the first 100 days. “We got rid of Musharraf in 100 days, we got Swat freed in 100 days,” the PPP co-chairman noted, recalling his party’s tenure in the centre. “Only a party of the masses can understand their needs and problems, not the parties that are made,” Zardari added.
Source:Pakistan Today
December 15, 2018 14:51 UTC
Those with a service tenure of just three years can't decide nation's fate: Zardari
The veteran politician advises 'national institutions' to operate within their constitutional ambitPakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari questioned on Saturday as to how can someone, having a service tenure of just three years, reserve the right to make decisions for the nation. Addressing his supporters in Hyderabad on Saturday, the veteran politician advised ‘national institutions’ to operate within their constitutional ambit. “A large number of cases are pending in the courts,” he said. “Those should be disposed off first.”Zardari claimed that those who promised to arrange five million houses for the poor, had instead caused 0.5 million people to lose their jobs in the name of the ongoing drive against encroachment. “I can feel the pain of the poor in the country,” he said.
Source:The Express Tribune
December 15, 2018 14:44 UTC
1,856 illegal structures on ETPB’s land identified
“ETPB’s land cannot be sold, and there are allotment categories under which it can be allocated by the chairman for a certain period of time. “We are working to retrieve ETPB’s land and structures that are illegally occupied for the past 20 years. Some influential persons, including political players, misused this land without seeking an approval from the board,” Lahore administrator Wahab Shah informed Pakistan Today. “A one-kanal plaza having 26 shops was sealed during the operation on Main Phoolnagar Road near the Multan Road. We have also devised a massive and comprehensive plan for the removal of encroachments on ETPB land and will get it retrieved at the earliest,” he added.
Source:Pakistan Today
December 15, 2018 14:37 UTC
Kashmiri leaders send 'SOS to humanity' after massacre of civilians
It was shoot to kill, not to disperse them.” He added that India was killing innocent Kashmiris as a state policy. https://t.co/wzDmv8XepF — Ahsan Iqbal (@betterpakistan) December 15, 20187 Civilians killed 60 Injured in Army firing in Pulwama Kashmir. @UNGeneva @UNHumanRights should fullfill duties to stop this genocide on kashmir by indian forces.. pic.twitter.com/Bku5KS2xsB — Akmal Farooq (@akmalfarooq302) December 15, 2018Bloodbath in #Pulwama. 7 civilians were shot dead while as sixty five others injured as the Indian forces opened indiscriminate fire upon protesters. #Kashmir https://t.co/lv2AZLEZGw pic.twitter.com/z7Fdi7W0y5 — Kabir (@kabwrites) December 15, 2018The brutal killing of civilians triggered angry protests in the Indian-occupied Kashmir where protesters condemned what they called ‘genocide of Kashmiri people’.
Source:The Express Tribune
December 15, 2018 14:26 UTC
Hafeez backs Pakistan to excel in South Africa
Pakistan opener Mohammad Hafeez has backed Pakistan to defeat South Africa during the upcoming away tour after the disappointing Test series defeat against New Zealand. The Pakistan all-rounder brushed aside the notion that he retired from Tests due to fear of facing South Africa pacer Dale Steyn, who has dismissed him 15 times in his career. “I did not retire from Test cricket due to fear of facing Dale Steyn,” he made it clear. “I don’t have any plans in place regarding retirement from ODIs and T20Is because right now my focus is on playing the ODI World Cup for Pakistan,” he said. “As long as I am fit and performing well in the field, I will continue to represent Pakistan in limited-overs cricket.”
Source:Pakistan Today
December 15, 2018 14:03 UTC
Lady doctor’s ‘negligence’ claims two lives in Gujranwala
Two women have died due to the alleged negligence of a lady doctor at a private hospital in the Dhingarwali area of Gujranwala, a private media outlet reported Saturday. The incident took place in the vicinity of the Gujranwala Cantt Police Station on Friday, reports said. The heirs have alleged that the doctor gave women the “wrong injection” which claimed their lives. The lady doctor and other staff fled the hospital after the deaths. The heirs of the deceased have demanded an action against the lady doctor, whereas the police, after registering a case against the accused, have started probing the incident.
Source:Pakistan Today
December 15, 2018 13:52 UTC
ATC seeks JIT report in militants’ shelter and treatment case
KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Saturday directed the Sindh Home Department to submit a complete report joint investigation team (JIT) report in a case regarding the sheltering and treating of suspected militants. The order was passed by ATC-II judge who was hearing the case. Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) leader Anees Kaimkhani, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Rauf Siddiqui and Usman Muazzam appeared before the court. Accused Dr Asim Hussain’s counsel informed the court that he is out of the country for treatment with the court’s approval, adding that Karachi Mayor Waseem Akhtar had immunity in the case. The court also granted one-day immunity to Abdul Qadir Patel in addition to granting bails to all the accused in the case.
Source:Pakistan Today
December 15, 2018 13:30 UTC